By Ashley Karen
The Civil Works portion of the Hudson Tunnel Project will now be separated into four contract packages, rather than the one package formerly contemplated, to assure that there is a robust and competitive bidding pool for this work:
- Package 1A, the portion of the tunnel via the Palisades to the building shaft in Hoboken, New Jersey, which will be provided through Design-Bid-Build;
- Package 1B, the section of the tunnel going via the bulkhead of the West Side of Manhattan, beneath Hudson River Park and linking to the new construction shaft between West 30th and 29th Streets, which will be provided through Design-Build;
- and Package 1C, which contains the tunnelling beneath the Hudson River from the new construction shaft in Hoboken to the new construction shaft in Manhattan, which will be provided through Design-Bid-Build.
Packages 1A and 1B are planned to begin in 2024 once FTA and GDC sign a Full Funding Grant Agreement under the FTA’s Capital Investment Grants Program. Package 1C is expected to start work in 2025.
Nevertheless, Contract Package EA1 (the fourth package) is an early work project which is predicted to begin before the project’s complete construction.
The “Hudson River Ground Stabilization” package will assist in de-risk the entire project by fortifying and stabilizing the river bottom on the New York side of the Hudson River. This work will make an improved condition in which to excavate the new tunnel via the eastern portion of the Hudson River section of the project.
In addition, the work will comply with all environmental regulations to secure the protection of the river and be performed only during specified time ranges to protect fish spawning and wildlife. This package will also be provided through Design-Build.
GDC Co-Chair and NJ Commissioner, Balpreet Grewal-Virk, claimed: “Our job is to get the Hudson Tunnel Project built. Advancing critically important parts of the project and developing contracting strategies with private industry that will ensure a competitive, qualified group of bidders, are key steps to staying ahead of the game, keeping the Gateway Hudson Tunnel Project moving forward, and delivering this project for the region and the nation.”
Also, GDC Co-Chair and NY Commissioner, Alicia Glen, expressed: “GDC is committed to building the Hudson Tunnel Project efficiently and effectively. We are working hand-in-hand with the private sector to meet that commitment, so there is competition and innovation that delivers a more reliable, 21st Century experience for millions of riders.”
In addition, GDC Vice-Chair and Amtrak Commissioner, Tony Coscia, declared: “This project is vital to keeping hundreds of thousands of passengers moving up and down the Northeast Corridor every day. We will always move nimbly in ensuring we are utilizing best practices in contracting and in moving early work forward so we can finally replace a more than Century old tunnel that the nation’s economy relies upon with modern, 21st Century rail.”
GDC CEO, Kris Kolluri, also added: “The industry that will build the Hudson Tunnel Project advised us that the best way to ensure a competitive bidding pool was to divide up the largest, most complicated portion of the project into multiple pieces of work. We listened,”
“By moving more complex early work forward, and making multiple packages for the new tunneling work, we’re taking an approach that will mean both that we are ready when the full project undertakes construction, and that we have the best in the business to deliver the most urgent infrastructure project in the nation,” continued Kris.
The new technique was developed utilizing feedback from numerous potential private sector contractors on the work through both a “Market Sounding” event GDC held for over 200 members of the industry in early February and a series of one-on-one follow-up meetings.
The early works and tunnel packages were also refined in partnership with the Federal Transit Administration as part of the work to advance the Capital Investment Grant process GDC is currently undergoing.
In addition, the GDC plans further early works for Package 1 projects comprising the Manhattan Bulkhead Tunneling Work, Excavation Work Near 12th Avenue in New York, and the Tonnelle Avenue Area Portal Preparation Work. Each of these advances the design of their respective package, assisting in de-risking the project by delivering more certainty to contractors.
GDC predicts that the initial contract, the Hudson River Ground Stabilization Contract Package EA1, will start the procurement process in the coming period with a Request for Qualifications. Procurement for the Palisades Tunnel Contract Package 1A will follow soon afterwards.
